Serpentine tensioner pointers

MooJohn

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Just thought I'd share my experience with replacing the serpentine belt tensioner. No pics but none are really needed.

• Put the car on ramps. You'll need to lift the engine slightly so the jack will be needed for that. Unbolt the power steering reservoir and tie it out of the way. It doesn't need to be disconnected and you don't have to touch the cooling system or reservoir at all. You will want to remove the small cross brace (8mm bolts) in that corner for extra room.

• Loosen the two engine mount bolts under the car on the passenger side. They're 21 mm. I left the nuts at the very end of the threads so it they couldn't pull completely out of the hole - saves potential issues getting it to line up if it ever came out completely. Use a floor jack to raise the passenger side of the engine just over 1 inch. You can lift by the oil pan if you put a block of wood on the jack cradle first. Remember, you're just "shifting" the engine, not really lifting it or the car.

• The serpentine belt tool was mostly useless because there wasn't room for it to go all the way to the "released" position once the belt was removed. I had better luck with a standard 3/8ths socket wrench with some muscle behind it.

• The tensioner uses a T40 torx bolt, and it's still a PITA to reach even with the engine raised but it is doable.

• When putting the new belt on, I started at the tensioner pulley. Once that's on properly the rest is easier to line up. Save the alternator pulley for last, popping the belt over it while also pulling the tensioner for the necessary belt slack. The 3/8ths socket wrench was used again, with another wrench placed over its handle for extra leverage.

• Make sure the belt is in the grooves on all pulleys before cranking the engine. You don't want it to pop off on the engine's first revolution!


The bearings on my tensioner idler pulley were shot. It had to be the source of my continued squeaking, even with a new belt last December. Someone had already changed the upper idler pulley (found out after it was removed) but for $18 it's good insurance to do again.

FWIW, the tensioner sold by AutoZone is Dayco - I'm not sure how it could be inferior to any other design. The bearing on the idler pulley I removed was stamped CHINA while the new one cleverly said PRC -- because we're too dumb to know that means People's Republic of China :D
 
This was a very helpful post. My friend and I just replaced my belt tensioner assembly and serpentine belt this morning. Once we got the engine "shifted" up, the rest was pretty easy. Thank you for the post.
 
I did this job a couple weeks back. I found it easiest to put the serp belt back in place before pulling the new tensioner up and into place.
 
When I replaced my alternator and serpentine belt a couple months ago I learned the true definition of PITA - my arms were covered in a substance I didn't know existed. I guess 175k miles collects a bit of grime.
 
Some additional tips from today's tensioner battle. Torx is about the worst f'n choice for an engine or suspension fastener. The engineers who come up with this **** should be drop kicked in the nuts. Ok, done venting.
I've found that just jacking up the engine with a piece of wood and not loosening the mounts will give you enough clearance to get the tensioner bolt out. Also it is possible to get a pipe wrench on the round head of the nut that holds the tensioner after you've stripped the torx. The tensioner bushing are made out of plastic and wear out. This causes the tensioner to cock sideways towards the engine. When this happens your belt no longer rides completely on the pulley and give you uneven pressure on the belt. It also cause the belt to rub against the tensioner and will even wear a groove. If you look up through the wheel well you can see the pulley. Your belt should be all the way on it. If not, your bushings are worn out. I changed mine with a plastic bushing that I had laying around after a little sanding it fit. Probably a lot easier to buy a new tensioner than to try to find a bushing in the store that will work. They should make the bushings out of brass but then they wouldn't sell as many replacement parts now would they. How many parts did you replace trying to get rid of the chirping?
 
I knew that with the job difficulty I only wanted to do it once so I replaced the belt, tensioner, and idler pulley at the same time. Noise can be from one idler or the other but you might as well do it all so you're set for another 10 years.

Dunno why it's not in my original post but I used a Goodyear Gatorback belt which is the best belt I've ever seen. You can tell just by holding it that it won't squeak for a LONG time.
 
completely agree with the "Goodyear Gatorback" belt, and if you follow the service manual procedure for replacing the tensioner, you could say "WTF" :)
 

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